Community Zooming Through the Summer
Most people think of libraries as quiet, sedate places for study and access to information. At VCU Libraries, our Friends of VCU Libraries event series has brought our community together for years around key lectures and events that occur on an annual basis. With the arrival of COVID-19 in March, VCU Libraries was forced to cancel 3 major Friends events for the spring and close our doors for months. Though our buildings are now open again, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the State of Virginia, we are taking all regular events to an online format for the 2020-2021 academic year.
The summer of 2020 was the perfect training ground to learn about the possibilities of online events. In late April, VCU Libraries premiered a series of “Community Zooms” that feature a different topic and presenter each week. The earliest presentations can be viewed here. In addition to those programs, we have had many interesting programs since mid July:
July 16th Aiming for Equality: The Goochland County Rosenwald Schools Oral History Project , led by Jessica Johnson
July 23rd Preserving Personal Treasures at Home , led by Nora Bloch
July 30th The History and Impact of Advertising Icons with Kelly O’Keefe and Pattie Sobczack
August 6th A New Chapter for VCU Libraries , led by Teresa Knott
August 13th Cabinet of Wonders: Stories of Your Personal Treasures , led by Alice Campbell
August 20th Adèle Clark: The Artist as Activist, led by Ray Bonis
August 27th Simple DIY Techniques for Making Books at Home, led by Andrea Kohashi
Coming up on September 17th Nursing History with Jodi Koste
With the full start of the school year on August 17th, our Community Zooms will move to an every other week schedule, so as to not conflict with our signature lecture series which kicks off on September 28th with the Levis Poetry Prize.